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These tractors were all made in England. I have a 1959 Fordson Power Major and althought very popular on the other side of the big pond, there is not a lot of information about them here in the USA. I'm looking for anybody who is knowledgeable on these tractors. I don't know how many Smokstak members are from outside the USA but if anybody from England, Australia, or anywhere else wants to talk Fordson......just let me know. I have small problem and some questions.

What's the questions ?
I am no expert on 50s Fordsons, but I have overhauled a couple of Diesels, and the first tractor I ever drove was a "power major". I dont know all that much about them, but if I dont know myself, I may know someone else who can help.

My father purchased a Power Major new in 1959, owned it until 1999.
They were a popular tractor in those years, and still bring good money to-day. Had good hydraulics & 3PL, a 2 stage clutch and an excellent fron't blade
set up was available. I will try to answer any questions you have about them.

First check out the picture. I scanned it from my I&T manual. My question is....Is the shroulded thermostat required? My tractor has an unshrouded thermostat, which according to the manual, is wrong.

When I got the tractor, it had a bad water pump and a leaking thermostat housing so I never ran it long enough to know if it will overheat. I put a new water pump on it and now I'm fixing the leaking thermostat housing. I don't want to put it back together with the wrong thermostat only to have it overheat.

I checked with a local New Holland dealer & a local Ford Power Products dealer and both wanted to sell me a plain old, unshrouded, one size fits all thermostat. But nobody could tell me if it was right (or wrong). Nobody really seems to know anything about these Majors in this country even thought Ford sold a bunch of them. And if I do need a shrouded thermomstat, where can I get one?

By the way, I may need a hydraulic lift pump for it. I haven't gotten into that yet to know for sure what is wrong. But if anybody has one, please keep me in mind.

Checked with a local dealer to-day regarding thermostats, it appears the one
type is now used on all models. Can't recall thermostats giving any trouble on
these tractors. (were often blamed for overheating problems but were mostly not at fault).
Can the available thermostat be shimed up to give the correct protusion.
I would be inclined to fit the thermostat that the dealer has, and see what
happens.

On the old major my dad used to use I am pretty shure the thermostat packed up and jammed shut. He pulled it out and chucked it over his shoulder to carry on and I don't think it ever did get replaced. The tractor was never one to overheat and I am almost certain it ran the last 5 years without a thermostat at all !

That said when I was working down in Perth about 30 years ago I did have trouble with a BMC engine in a ute (light pickup) that was overheating and it turned out to be the wrong thermostat. That one had a plate on the end of the body, and when it opened this plate moved down and closed off the bypass hose opening stopping the water recirculating around the block. Put in the right one and no trouble.

If it was me I would try it with the unshrouded type you can get and see what happens. It wont "instantly" boil so just see what happens, I would be very surprised if it didn't work perfectly well, If it gets too hot because the water is recirculiting around the block and not going through the radiator then you may have to either hunt up a genuine one or put some sort of obstruction in the by pass circuit to force the water flow through the radiator core.

I have owned a 1963 super major since 1980. It still runs very good except it bellows out white smoke.
I was told that white smoke is a sign of it starving for fuel and I should have the fuel injectors cleaned.
I found a local place that will test and clean them.
The problem is I was going to remove them but can't find them. I disconnected the line from the injector pump to the cylinder (not there) I disconnected the line from the top of the injector pump and am not sure (if it is there) how to remove it.
Can anyone advise me ? See picture at the attched site.

The injectors are under the rocker cover. Take the cover off and you will see them easy enough.
White smoke is usualy a sign of an injector giving trouble, it's fuel going out the exhaust pipe unburned because the spray pattern is not right or sometimes the compression is too low to burn properly. If there is a dribbling injector it can wash the lubricating oil off your cylinder walls and score the cylinder quite badly requiring major work on the engine, so I would get someone to check out the injectors sooner rather than later.

I have owned a 1963 super major since 1980. It still runs very good except it bellows out white smoke.
I was told that white smoke is a sign of it starving for fuel and I should have the fuel injectors cleaned.
I found a local place that will test and clean them.
The problem is I was going to remove them but can't find them. I disconnected the line from the injector pump to the cylinder (not there) I disconnected the line from the top of the injector pump and am not sure (if it is there) how to remove it.
Can anyone advise me ? See picture at the attched site.

Yes, you will find the fuel injection nozzles under the valve cover. Once the cover is off you will see them just below the rocker arm shaft. The white smoke may not be caused by the nozzles but more likely by late injection pump timing.
Also, make sure there is oil in the base of that Simms injection pump. I have seen a lot of those with severe wear because the owner/operator did not know that you have to add oil to the injection pump base. It is not (like many) lubricated by the engine oil. Worn parts in the pump can cause late injection pump timing and white smoke. The timing can be adjusted at the pump drive coupling.

Just use whatever oil that you use in the engine. Nothing special is required.
The injection pump timing can only be changed with the engine stopped. It is adjusted at the pump drive coupling. There are two bolts (or nuts) that you loosen and the coupling can then be slipped one way or the other for correct timing. Sorry, I do not have the specs for this engine. Maybe another Staker can provide that info.
You could do this: first note the direction of rotation of the pump coupling when the engine is running. Then with the engine stopped, mark the coupling, loosen the before mentioned bolts or nuts and then slip the coupling in the direction of rotation slightly. You will be advancing the timing. Tighten up the coupling and start it up. If you see some improvement in the amount of smoke you know you are on the right track. You might try this a couple of times to get it just right. If you advance the pump timing too much you will note a loud rattle when the engine is accellerated and may note some black smoke. If you see no change for the better you can postion the coupling back to the marks that you made.
I have done this many times with old engines. As injection pump parts wear the timing retards.

Mark is right about the oil, all you need is engine oil.
As for timing the engine, I think yours should be set at 23 degrees BTDC.
There are several different styles of pump, and I am not shure what yours has. You can usualy check the timing roughly by setting the engine at 23 degrees on number 1 firing, and then look for a scribe mark up on the coupler. The scribe mark on the coupler should line up with another mark on a plate (or on the individual coupler components depending on the type of pump) The degree mark is on the outside of the flywheel and can be seen through a hole in the right hand sump flywheel housing (it usualy has a little cover over a small round hole)
If you can't find the relevent marks on the coupler you may need to "spill time" the engine, and that is a whole different can of worms. I can describe how its done, and I would say Mark could too as it's something you have to do from time to time, but if you need to do that I would advise getting the asistance of someone familiar with injection pumps.

Hello my name is Branden and I am very new to this sight. Any ways that being said I have a 1955 fordson major that I am in "major" need of parts for my injection pump as for money is tight. But sribe to keep the ole girl going. What I need is just one plunger and barrel. The pump number on the inspection cover is spe4a75s 647. Thanks any help would be greatly apprixiated.

David,I have a hydraulic pump out of my 60 power major that I would like to sell.Get in touch with me if you need it. You do know it is located in the bottom of the diff. case. I am putting a loader on mine over the rear axle. I have turned the diff. around,have put full hydraulic steering on it, just have to finish hooking up the clutch and the brakes. Jim

During the 1950's and early 60's my Father owned a number of Major diesels and Super Majors on his farm in England. The men who drove them loved the good-starting, torquey engine, excellent gear ratios and great wheel-grip, but disliked the clattery gearboxes and heavy steering. These tractors were crude, but way ahead of all the UK competition except perhaps the big Nuffields and were a country mile better than the contemporary David Brown 990 and the Massey Ferguson 65, except for heavy pto work, as the shaft gearing was too high (540 rpm at 1200 engine revs). My father got over this by fitting clamps to hold in the excess fuel starting button on the pump - result was clouds of black smoke when pulling, but a load of extra power when it was needed. I remember that in the afternoons he used to load the Landrover up with extra cans of fuel and take it to the tractors, which were away in the fields working flat-out with 70" rotavators preparing ground for potatoes - they were black-smoking like mountain steamers and guzzling fuel to the extent that they needed to be refuelled from these cans to keep going until evening, but that way they would drive those big rotavators and get the job done. In all the years that Father owned Majors, they were totally trouble-free and never once needed even a clutch replacement, despite the overwork and abuse - marvellous, tough, indestructable old tractors and the best there were at that time!
Tricky Dickie

Does anyone know if there is an interchangable front tire rim that is the same size and bolt pattern for the Fordson Major. It is hard to find them locally and not wanting to order two from across the pond.